In the year 6 BBY, a band of rebels secretly placed detonators upon a number of seismic surveyor droids situated in the Westhills region of the planet Lothal. During a visit to his old homestead, local young person Beck Ollet, accompanied by his friends Zare Leonis and Merei Spanjaf, stumbled upon the rebels' activities. Merei's shriek alerted the insurgents, causing them to rapidly escape into the forests located to the orchard's south. As the young people inspected the Imperial seismic surveyors, they realized the rebels had attached detonators to them. Fortunately, the insurgents hadn't managed to activate the detonators because Beck and his friends had arrived.
Although Zare was displeased with the Empire's acquisition of farmland for [mining](/article/mining] purposes, he considered the attempted sabotage an unlawful act and informed the Imperial authorities. In response, the Empire sent a number of TIE fighters along with an Imperial Troop Transport to the location where the sabotage attempt occurred. Upon the arrival of several stormtroopers, Beck gave the authorities false information, claiming the intruders had escaped towards the north. As the stormtroopers deactivated the explosives, Beck and his friends went back to their homes after the event. The next day, Lieutenant Piers Roddance questioned Zare about what had happened, commending Leonis and his friends for informing the Empire about a "potential insurrection." Leonis recounted all he had observed that night but left out any mention of Beck's misleading statement.